My dad drew a buck tag one year. Opening day he and I were headed down to camp about 1pm for something he’d forgotten that morning. There’s a nice 22” 4x4 laying about 40 yards off the trail, nice buck but probably 3 years old not a whole lot of mass but not a super spindly one either definite tweener. After a quick consultation during which I tell him that it’s only halfway through opening day but ultimately it’s his tag he pulls the trigger and lays him down.
The very next day I get back to my wheeler after an unsuccessful trek up the mountain after elk and once again 40 yards off the road there’s a buck. Except this one is the biggest mule deer I’ve ever seen even to this day. I just sat and watched him for a solid 3-5 minutes as he crunched acorns. He was an easy 30” and had 7 on one side and 9 on the other with huge rear forks. There was a moment where shooting him and swapping heads with dad’s buck hanging on the pole felt like a serious consideration.
I drew a tag the next year and hunted the whole season never seeing a buck bigger than a forky.
The very next day I get back to my wheeler after an unsuccessful trek up the mountain after elk and once again 40 yards off the road there’s a buck. Except this one is the biggest mule deer I’ve ever seen even to this day. I just sat and watched him for a solid 3-5 minutes as he crunched acorns. He was an easy 30” and had 7 on one side and 9 on the other with huge rear forks. There was a moment where shooting him and swapping heads with dad’s buck hanging on the pole felt like a serious consideration.
I drew a tag the next year and hunted the whole season never seeing a buck bigger than a forky.
